Cigar pressing machine



Dec. 28, 1965 F. PIETRUSKA 3,225,774

CIGAR PRESSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1963 F I G 2 3 3L J .l L J L.

INVENTOR FRIEDRICH Pl ETRU SKA BWZZL ATTORNEY Dec. 28, 1965 F. PIETRUSKA3,225,774

CIGAR PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTORFRIEDRICH PIETRUSKA ATTO R N EY Dec. 28, 1965 F. PIETRUSKA CIGARPRESSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 15, 1965 INVENTOR FR lEDRI CH Pl ETRUSKA BY a ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,225,774 CIGARPRESSHNG MACEHNE Friedrich Pietruska, Hemmerlestrasse 2, Memmingen,Germany Filed Apr. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 273,178 5 Claims. (Cl. 13180) Theinvention concerns a pressing machine for the single pressing of tobaccosmoking articles or similar items, to be effected by steps, for thepurpose of shaping the approximately circular cross section into arectangular or square cross section, using pressure plates with parallelpressing surfaces.

It is known that smoking articles such as cigars, cigarillos or similararticles are arranged in frames or on boards and between boards andbars, respectively, and then pressed. In this manner, for example, 20 to30 smoking articles are placed singly between the Wooden bars andthrough tightening of the bars by means of screws, sideways, and bystacking several of these frames in a screw press, the articles arepressed. In another known molding press the articles lie in the groovesof correspondingly formed molding boards. Numerous molding boards arestacked one on another and are pressed vertically by means of jackscrews. This method of single pressing requires a large quantity ofwooden frames with intermediary boards, or molding boards, screw pressesand arranging tables and other accessories, and, above all, a greatamount of space and many workers.

Furthermore, pressing machines are known in which the cigars or similararticles are placed in the appropriate recesses of a mold and the cigarsare pressed together through the mechanical activation of a press cover.The pressure, if applied for a sufficiently long period of time, willalso achieve the desired forming, however the output of this pressingmachine is very limited. In addition, there occurs only the pressingagainst two surfaces, opposite one another, while the other two surfacesremain unpressed.

In order to reduce the necessary expenditure of material, space andlabor required for single pressing, it is known that an entire group oftobacco articles, cigars or similar items are being pressed with sharpedges. But the character and composition of the individual articles arenot the same, so that in cases of such a group or neighbor pressing,respectively, the softer articles are crushed and receive a smallersize. There is also the disadvantage that the individual articlesinfluence one another regarding their shapes. This results in adeterioration of the outside appearance and it is also difiicult toexchange the damaged articles while packaging them, since a certainnumber of articles shall then no longer have the exact width of thepackaging box and shall no longer fit into it.

In an older method of operation it has already been suggested to pressthe rolled strands angularly by having them pass in a continuous axialmovement between numerous press rollers applied to the surfaces to bepressed, or by pressing them between pressure plates which move togetherwith the articles, in continuous motion.

It is the object of the invention to create a machine which, in additionto effecting a saving in the previously necessary manual work, wouldcontain, in particular, the advantage that the pressed articles willhave an exactly uniform shape. The invention starts out with a pressingmachine of the type mentioned hereinabove and is characterized therebyin that the pressing machine consists of two pressing devices which areapplied to the articles to be pressed in a consecutive manner, wherebythe article will, in each of these devices, be subject to the action ofthe pressure plates; and also characterized thereby in 3,225,774Patented Dec. 28, 1965 that the pressure plates of the first device formtwo opposurfaces of the article and the pressure plates of the seconddevice form the two other surfaces of the article.

By subdividing the pressing operation into two steps of the process, itis possible to achieve a smooth operating procedure and thus also alarge quantitative output of the machine. On the other hand, however, asimple construction and design are obtained by the characteristics ofthe invention, which is of great advantage to the trouble-freemanufacturing process.

The machine according to the invention can be utilized for the pressingof smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. Thus, ifin the preceding and following paragraphs only cigars are mentioned, itmust not be understood as limiting the possibilities of application ofthe invention to any similar shapeable article. In a favored type modelof the invention the first pressing device consists of at least one pairof pressure plates placed vertically and having flat pressing surfaces,and in whose pressing slit horizontally placed supporting boards,carrying the articles and being guided by chains or similar device andwhich are movable downwards, and whereby the pressure plates areeffecting, by means of a drive, oscillating pressure movements againsteach other. It is advantageous if the distance between the supportingboards is greater than the thickness of the articles and that they cancontinue to move during the upstroke of the press.

When pressing the smoking articles, care must be taken that the articlesdo not suffer any damage and also, in particular, that no glossy spotsor similar occur. Such errors may occur when the pressing machine dragsthe articles along a baseplate. In the case of this invention, thiscannot happen. By having the pressure plates of the first pressuredevice arranged vertically, and since the supporting boards of therevolving chain or similar device are spaced a sufficient distance, thearticles are being held between the plates during the pressingoperation, while they fall down onto the supporting board which haveadvanced in the meantime, in the time between two pressure strokes. Thenanother pressure stroke begins, etc. It is of particular advantage thatthe supporting boards can be moved continuously, thus ensuring an evenand continuous supply of new, round articles. The even feed, on theother hand, protects the articles that are delivered and increases theoutput.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, a conveyordevice is arranged for the articles at the end of the pair of pressureplates of the first pressure device and attached to the second pressuredevice.

This conveyor device of the second pressure device consists preferablyof a large number of carrying (supporting) boards, guided by chain bandsor similar device and which run through the pairs of pressure plates ofthe second pressure device, whereby each supporting board has a frontand a rear surface facing the corresponding surfaces of the neighboringsupporting boards so that a slit is opened between two neighboring(adjacent) supporting boards, which slit may be of even width orslightly narrower than the width of the finished articles, in such amanner that the articles are held in said slit through a clamping actionand thus are being carried by the supporting boards.

The invention provides further that the height of the supporting boardsshould be no more than the measurement of the shortest distance betweenthe pressure plates, and that the pressure surfaces of the pressureplates are fiat. The conveyor device is being driven step by step.

The second pressure device must, essentially, aifect a considerablyhigher number of pressure movements than the first pressure device. Dueto the other two surfaces of the smoking articles having been shapedalready, the

shaping eifort of the second pressure device is much greater. For thisreason, the second pressure device and thus, also, the conveyor deviceor the rotary band, respectively, of the second pressure device mustalso be considerably larger than the units of the first pressure device.If, for example, a chain is being used for the transportation device ofthe second pressure device, then this chain consists of a great numberof single members and after the pressing machine has been in use for alonger period of time, it must be assumed that the chain will expandsomewhat. In the case of this invention, this occurrence does notpresent any difficulties, as the invention does not require that eachsupporting board or each slit between the supporting boards correspondexactly to a certain position of the pressure plate. The expansionapplicable to each slit between the supporting boards is so small,however, that the clamping action is not changed to any appreciableextent.

The invention furthermore provides that each plate of a pair of pressureplates shall move toward the other pressure plate in the course of thepressing operation. This results in the articles always occupying thecenter position between the pressure plates, whereby it is preventedthat a sliding along the pressure plates occurs when the conveyor deviceis moving forward and also preventing the falling down onto thecorresponding supporting board of the first pressure device.

In order to provide for as simple a drive as possible for the pairs ofpressure plates, the invention calls for a joint shaft or a pair ofshafts for each pair of pressure plates which are opposed by hearingplates 16a and 16b mounted on eccentric bearings on the shaft or on thepair of shafts for each plate.

At the transfer point from the first pressure device to the conveyordevice of the second pressure device a depressor is arranged with thetask of pressing down, between the carrying boards, the smoking articlesfalling onto the conveyor device.

Finally, it was found that the shaping of the smoking articles in thecourse of the pressing operation could be considerably facilitatedthrough heating of the pressure plates. This heating could be doneelectrically, for example. The heated pressure plates heat the tobaccoand the heated tobacco shows less resistance to shaping than the coldtobacco. In addition, the risk of damage to the smoking articles isdiminished. For these reasons, the invention provides that the pressureplates of the first pressure device and that part of the pressure platesof the second pressure device, which acts first on the smoking articles,be heated and that the other part of the pressure plates of the secondpressure device be cooled. Through this cooling, which can be done bymeans of a fan, the smoking articles are sufliciently cooled at the endof the pressing machine, so that they retain their form.

In the drawing a model design of the pressing machine according to theinvention is shown.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the pressing machine according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the above;

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged section through the first pressure device online 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged section through the second pressure device online 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section corresponding to the section illustrated in FIG. 4,but in a different operating position; and

FIG. 6 to FIG. 9 show a schematic illustration of the operation.

The two pressure devices 2 and 3 are mounted on the joint frame 1.Pressure device 2, the individual parts of which can be seen in FIG. 3,consists of a pair of pressure plates 4 and 5, arranged vertically andenclosing between them a pressing slit 6. The supporting boards 7 passthrough this pressure slit 6 from the top downward, said boards beingconnected at their ends and being guided then beneath it.

by chains 8, bands or similar devices. driven by the rollers 9 and 9'.

The roller 10 is a tension roller. The supporting boards 7 pick up thesmoking articles 12 from a table 11 or a similar device (FIG. 1) andcarry them in the direction of the arrow 13. Guides 14 and 15 direct thesmoking articles into the slit 6 of the pressure plates 4 and 5.

These pressure plates are driven by an eccentric drive which is notdescribed further, through the shafts 16, so thatthey are effectingpressure movements in the direction of arrow 17, The plate 5 issupported by bearing brackets 16a whose eccentric bearings are degreesout of phase with the eccentric bearings supporting bearing brackets 16bcarrying plate 4. As soon as the smoking articles get into the operatingarea of pressure plates 4, 5, these pressure plates will first pressthem from their original, approximately circular, form into an oblong,oval form. During the pressing process, the pressure plates, which havebeen heated by means not shown, are holding the smoking article, whilethe chain 8 with the supporting boards 7 continues to move forwarduniformly. After each pressure stroke the pressure plates 4, 5, releasethe smoking article which then falls onto the supporting board Sincebecause of the first pressure stroke a sufficient Shaping of the smokingarticles into the oblong, oval shape has been achieved, there is nodanger that they will cant in the course of the falling movement. Ifnecessary, it is possible to arrange the pressure slit 6 from the outsetconically narrower.

In the pressure device 2, the article 12 is first shaped from thecircular shape indicated in FIG. 6 to the shape as shown in FIG. 7.

The chain 8 with the supporting boards 7 passes through the slit 33coming from channel 19, whereby the chain 8 is guided by the pair ofrollers 9, so that the path is clear for the downfalling articles 12.

From the lower end 18 of the pressure plates 5, 6, the article fallsthrough the channel 19 onto the conveyor device 20. This conveyor deviceconsists primarily of the carrying boards 21, whose ends 22 (FIGS. 4 and5) are connected in chain form, or which are carried by a chain, wherebyrollers 23 are provided at the ends 22 or at the chain, respectively,with which the carrying boards 21 glide along a rail 24. The chains orsimilar devices pass over the rollers 25 and 26 (FIG. 1) at the frontand rear ends of the pressure device 3. One of the rollers is in theform of a tension roller. The conveyor device direction is indicated byarrows 27.

Each carrying board 21 has, essentially, a rectangular or a U-shapedsection, with a front surface 28 and a rear surface 29. Between twocarrying boards 21 there remains a slit having a width whichapproximately corresponds to the width of the finished article. Thewidth must be chosen in such a manner that the shaping process carriedthrough by the first pair of pressure plates 30, 31 shall result in alight clamping of the articles in the slit, so that the articles shallno longer glide on the pressure plates. That is, the article is held bythe boards 21 as they advance during the cyclical withdrawal of thepressure plates.

Since the required width of the articles for the clamping action betweenthe carrying boards 21 shall not yet be present upon their leaving thepair of pressure plates 4, 5, the articles 12 are being supported bynarrow bars 32 in the zone between the lower end of the channel 19 andthe beginning of the first pair of pressure plates 30, 31 of thepressure device 3.

The conveyor device 20 is driven by a pawl and ratchet mechanism 34,step by step. The mechanism 34 is con nected with a gear unit 36 bymeans of the connecting rod 35. The gear unit also drives the pressureplates of the pressure devices 2 and 3, and the chain 8 by means ofchains, not illustrated. The driving motor is common to all parts and isdesignated by 37. The transmission elements of the gear unit 36 havebeen omitted.

The chains are The same working rhythm, in which the essentric shafts 16and thereby also the pair of pressure plates 4, 5 and the conveyordevice 20 are driven, is the one in which also move each pair 38 ofpressure plates and 31 of the pressure device 3. Here, the drive is doneby means of eccentric shafts 39 and 40, whereby one pair each ofeccentric shafts 39, 40 are provided for each pair of pressure plates38. Eccentrics 41 and 42, placed staggered and at an angle of 180 to oneanother, are arranged on the eccentric shafts 39, 40; through side bars43 and 44 the lower pressure plates 31 and the upper pressure plates 30are attached to the eccentrics 41 and 42, in such a manner that thepairs of pressure plates will effect a vertical pressure movement whenthe eccentric shaft 39, 40 turns. The conveyor device 20 shall remainmotionless during the pressure stroke (FIG. 4), while the advance occurswhen the pressure (FIG. 5) is released.

While one single pair of pressure plates was sufficient for the pressuredevice 2, a multiple number of pairs of pressure plates 38 is requiredfor the pressure device 3. The pairs of pressure plates 38 of thepressure device 3, which, in the course of the operation, may be deemedto be neighbored by the pressure device 2, are also electrically heatedby means of conductor E, the same as the pairs of pressure plates of thepressure device 2, while the last two or three pairs of pressure platesof the pressure device 3 are being cooled by means of a current of airor similar device.

The finished articles, which are already cooled, are discharged from thelast end of the pair of pressure plates 38. The release from theclamping-hold between the carrying boards 21 is eased through thearching during the turning over of the pair of rollers 26. In FIG. 8,the holding of the article 12 in the pressure device 3 is illustratedschematically, while FIG. 9 shows the final section of the article 12.

To facilitate the introduction of the articles 12 into the carryingboards 21 at the transfer point from pressure device 2 to pressuredevice 3, a holding-down device 45 is provided. This device can swingover the pivot joint 46 and intervenes into the channel 19. Theholding-down device is driven by a rammer 47, by means of a cam 48 onthe first eccentric shaft 39. The return spring 49 presses the roller 50against the cam 48, so that the holding-down device 45 will take thebroken-line position 51, whenever the article falls downward out of thepair of pressure plates 4, 5.

It is advantageous to arrange the Width of the machine in such a mannerthat, if the output is to be increased, two articles may pass throughthe machine simultaneously, one adjacent to the other.

The finished articles are then cut in half or cut, respectively, in theknown manner, and packaged.

What is claimed is:

1. A pressing machine for pressing substantially cylindrical elongatedsmoking articles, said machine comprising a pair of opposed spacedplates, eccentric means for actuating at least one of said plates tooscillate toward and away from the other of said plates to produce acycle of alternating pressure and nonpressure on smoking articlespositioned therebetween, first means effecting movement of said smokingarticles forwardly, with their longitudinal axes in parallel alignmentand spaced substantially one from another, between said pair of platesduring the nonpressure portion of the cycle only, and second meanseffecting movement of said first means continuously during both thepressure portion and nonpressure portion of the cycle.

2. A pressing machine for pressing a substantially cylindrical elongatedsmoking article between opposed pressing surfaces, and furthercharacterized in that the pressing machine comprises first and secondpressure devices arranged to act successively, and substantially atright angles one to the other, upon the smoking ar ticle to be pressed,at a firt pressing station and at a second pressing station, spacedsubstantially from said first pressing station, respectively, and inwhich each said pressure device comprises a pair of opposed spacedplates, eccentric means for actuating at least one of each of said pairtoward and away from the other of said pair, to produce cycles ofalternating pressure and nonpressure on said smoking article positionedtherebetween, first means effecting movement of said article forwardlybetween said first pair of plates at said first station during saidnonpressure cycle only, and second means effecting movement of saidfirst means continuously during both the pressure and nonpressure cyclesat said first station only.

3. A pressing machine comprising at least one pair of verticallyarranged opposed spaced pressure plates having a vertical slittherebetween, eccentric means for actuating at least one of said platescyclically toward and away from the other of said plates during apressure cycle and a nonpressure cycle, respectively, spaced supportmeans for smoking articles, said support means spaced a predetermineddistance one from another and mounted for movement downwardly throughsaid slit, said support means moving less than said predetermineddistance during each cycle of said plates, the relative cross sectionalsize of said smokable articles, the spacing of said support means, andthe size of said slit being such that said smoking articles remainstationary during said pressure cycle of said plates and drop downwardlyless than said predetermined distance during said nonpressure cycle.

4. A device substantially as set forth in claim 3 and furthercharacterized in that each plate of said pair of pressure plates ismounted for coordinated movement toward each other during the pressurecycle.

5. A device substantially as set forth in claim 3 and furthercharacterized in that it has eccentric hearings on a rotating shaft, andsaid pressure plates of said pair of pressure plates are mounted uponsaid hearings on said rotating shaft, the bearing supporting one platehaving its eccentricity 180 degrees out of phase to the bearingsupporting the other of said plates.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 57,800 9/1866Watson 131--111 244,455 7/ 1881 Hammerstein 13187 X 1,376,275 4/ 1921Henry --215 X 1,817,319 8/1931 Muller 131-109 1,838,132 12/1931 Beutelet a1. 13125 X 2,113,514 4/ 1938 Molins 131109 2,269,116 1/ 1942 Lehmann131109 3,014,520 12/1961 Myers 100-222 X 3,057,361 10/1962 Respess 131793,138,164 6/1964 Respess 13180 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,218,972 12/ 1959France.

862,114 1/ 1953 Germany. 1,083,735 6/ 1960 Germany.

25,298 of 1906 Great Britain. 354,126 8/1931 Great Britain. 372,7895/1932 Great Britain. 554,017 6/ 1943 Great Britain. 755,315 8/1956Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

1. A PRESSING MACHINE FOR PRESSING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL ELONGATEDSMOKING ARTICLES, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSED SPACEDPLATES, ECCENTRIC MEANS FOR ACTUATING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLATES TOOSCILLATE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER OF SAID PLATES TO PRODUCE ACYCLE OF ALTERNATING PRESSURE AND NONPRESSURE ON SMOKING ARTICLESPOSITIONED THEREBETWEEN, FIRST MEANS EFFECTING MOVEMENT OF SAID SMOKINGARTICLES FORWARDLY, WITH THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES IN PARALLEL ALIGNMENTAND SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY ONE FROM ANOTHER, BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF PLATESDURING THE NONPRESSURE PORTION OF THE CYCLE ONLY, AND SECOND MEANSEFFECTING MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRST MEANS CONTINUOUSLY DURING BOTH THEPRESSURE PORTION AND NONPRESSURE PORTION OF THE CYCLE.